This invention relates to a wire-stripping arrangement for stripping the insulation of an elongate insulated electrical conductor, and finds particular, though not exclusive, application in an electrical connector. More particularly, the invention relates to a wire-stripping arrangement employing "recoverable" or "independently recoverable" means for stripping insulation.
A "recoverable" article is one whose dimensional configuration may be made to change when subjected to an appropriate treatment. Usually these articles recover towards an original shape from which they have previously been deformed but the term "recoverable", as used herein, also includes an article which adopts a new configuration, even if it has not been previously deformed. The article may be heat recoverable, such that its dimensional configuration may be made to change when subjected to heat treatment. Examples of recoverable articles are given in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,149,911, 4,221,457, 4,233,731 and 4,237,609.
The term "independently recoverable" is used herein to refer to a recoverable article (of plastics or metal) that is held by its own molecular structure in a first state, changes being inducible within the molecular structure to cause the article to recover from the first state towards a second state.